That is looking amazing Simon nice work.
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That is looking amazing Simon nice work.
Thanks.
I need to scrape the bindings again on the sides. The first coats of Tru-Oil leached out some stain and it ran over the edge onto the binding. It's stopped doing that now, so I need to scrape them clean again and then they should stay clean.
Must concentrate of the headstock and a logo for the inlay before I do too much more!
Love that figure coming through on the top, great stuff to see Simon!
Wow Simon, that's looking great, I love the color (and I love this guitar style - maybe one of my next builds :-) )
Looking pretty good. The flame on the bout looks great.
Beautiful work Simon. It will turn up a treat once she is polished.
Looking really good, Simon. That red has come up really nice under the TO
Are you doing gold hardware?
No, nickel. I'm not really a gold hardware person. replaced all the gold on my Les Paul. And real 330s never had gold hardware. The only guitar of mine that will have gold hardware is the ES-3 (when it's finally finished).
That's beautiful Simon you have out done your self on this build GOTM candidate me thinksQuote:
Originally Posted by Simon Barden
Thanks. I've got to finish it first though and there's a lot that can go wrong. All I've done is very simple so far, nothing special at all.
Well, I've been working on a simple logo for some 'inlay'. Printed it out onto paper, then stuck that on my thin sheet of abalone.
Attachment 24830
Then cut out the shape using a scalpel.
It sort of worked but the abalone is quite brittle and has a definite grain that it will snap along. Both attempts failed because a small piece broke off. Here's attempt two (it's actually the rear side but I've flipped the pic to show the logo more clearly.
Attachment 24832
So plan B is to superglue some thin plastic to the back of the sheet first to hold it all together, then cut it (haven't got anything handy so have ordered some that will arrive tomorrow). So even if it does split, it should still be he;ld in place by the plastic sheet. It should also allow some sanding of the 'inlay' so smooth off some of the rough edges and get the round bits rounder.
The idea is then to cut a round hole in a piece of veneer (probably maple as it's got the least grain), then stick that on the front of the headstock, stick the inlay in the hole then fill the gaps in the inlay, then paint the face black. With the plastic on the back, the inlay should just be proud of the veneer, so will become visible after some sanding back.
That's the theory anyway.
Wow that inlay looks great SB!
I meant to upload the one where I'd highlighted the area where the abalone split off. The paper is still stuck to the other side, which is why it looks complete.
Attachment 24833
I like it... great idea Simon
Hopefully tomorrow or Saturday I'll be able to show you one I prepared earlier.
Sounds good Simon. The inlay looks great, so hopefully you’re plan works and you can avoid the chip-out
The plastic sheet arrived here a few minutes ago (just before 10am, so I've just stuck the abalone sheet to it using some permanent spray adhesive (after roughing up the plastic's surface with sandpaper) and am now waiting for it to dry. Originally thought about using superglue, but it's quite a large area and there could have been problems spreading it out evenly before it set or with any spreader sticking to it etc.
It's not working. The plastic is too thick/tough to cut easily, even with a brand-new scalpel blade. It's only 0.5mm thick, but that's still to thick to cut well without flexing it all, which then breaks the abalone away from the plastic. I'm now trying to sand the plastic back so it's thinner and will cut a bit more easily. Also beginning to wish I'd used superglue.
Maybe a really fine jewellers saw?
Why not cut a disc of abalone, then print the reverse part of your logo in black. Put that on the abalone. Clear over it and put that into the hole in the veneer?
There is a plastic / polyester that is quite strong as I used to use it for hinges on my RC planes and is easy to cut with a sharp knife called mylar which comes in various forms. It is used by draughtsmen for drawing and is used in the survival blankets so there are various thicknesses. From my understanding you are using a backing material so if the abalone breaks as it is brittle it will hold together via the backing. Most glues can be used with mylar, I used superglue and araldite but I am sure there are others. If you can get some thin double sided tape, I used a tape that is about the thickness of paper so there is no flex when pressure is applied via a knife so the abalone wont break, and use this to stick the mylar to a piece of wood then glue the abalone down onto the mylar. Once you cut out your design then use a solvent to dissolve the double sided tape glue to remove the item from the wood that doesn't react with the glue holding the abalone to the mylar. I used ethanol and am pretty sure it doesn't react with the mylar and superglue but it would need to be verified. Have used this method and material on a engraver machine I used to use with thin material with no problems which is another way of making your emblem as abalone is quite easy to engrave and cut out using an CNC engraver / router so if you know someone or can access such a machine would make your life a lot easier.
It's going to need to be sanded when in place, so anything printed on top isn't gong to survive the sanding.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonic Mountain
I realised that I didn't need to cut right through the backing plastic as long as I could remove the unwanted bits of abalone, I almost managed one like that, apart from a small corner that kept breaking off every time I tried to trim it back. But the fact that I could separate the abalone from the backing plastic showed that the glue wasn't strong enough to keep the abalone attached regardless.
I have now got some polyester ink jet printing film and have glued some of that onto the back of some more of the thin abalone sheet with superglue. Going to let that dry for a while and then see how I get on with that.
Well superglue didn't stick the plastic film to the abalone. It stuck to the abalone and left a nice clear covering when I simply peeled the plastic away with almost no force. The spray glue stuck it on much better.
I've now got a jewellers saw and will give that a go, but today is one of those days where anything I touch goes wrong, so I'll try it out another day.
I'm sure you won't be beat Simon and crack it eventually, sometimes we need to sit back, move onto other things then go back to it with a fresh mind
I will get there in the end. Now I've got the jewellers saw and had a quick go with it, I'm sure I'll find a way. I may even end up ordering some thicker abalone that's not quite so delicate.
Ah yes, you’ve had a poo finger Day. They happen. Chalk it up to experience and have a cuppa.Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Barden
Well I think I've sorted out the inlay issue, using a mixture of scoring round the shapes with a scalpel then using a Dremel engraving bit to remove the abalone in the middle. I realised that I don't need to cut all the way through the plastic backing, I just need to remove the abalone so that I can fill the gaps with black super glue. Though i'm not sure quite well how the superglue will stick to the plastic, so I've made holes right through in several locations, so that the glue can stick underneath (it should stick OK to the wood) come up through the holes and fill the pits in the abalone on the top, hopefully locking it into place. I've got a couple of inlays ready, but until I try each filling one with the superglue, then I won't know exactly how good they'll look, as the plastic backing is obviously a bit mangled from the engraving bit, so the abalone doesn't stand out much in contrast. Fingers crossed.
Anyway, in preparation, I've cut out a bit of veneer for the headstock face, cut a hole in it for the inlay to sit in, and glued it to the headstock. Luckily my inlay design just happened to be the same size as a UK 10 pence piece, so I had an easy template to draw around. Here I'm halfway through taping up the sides of the headstock to protect them from any glue runs. There's no way that I'd get a wet cloth to remove any excess in between the clamping pieces with the clamps in the way.
Attachment 25031
I just hope the veneer hasn't moved from its centred position when I clamped it up (cling film between the clamping piece and the veneer to avoid any sticking).
I've removed the plastic nut ready to fit a bone one, but noticed that there's a definite step down between the ledge the nut sits on and the headstock face; almost as if it was designed to have a veneer applied, as the veneer nicely removes that step. As these are kits from factories that also produce finished guitars, maybe it was!
Attachment 25032
The veneer is just slightly thinner than the inlay piece, but by the time the veneer is sealed and has a couple of coats of black paint on, it should be on a similar level. Then some wet sanding should bring everything nice and flat again.
Well, that's the plan! :D
And if it all goes wrong I can simply sand it all off and start again. Hours of fun!
Back in the day it was 'What happens when Dawn breaks' ah, memories.Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankenWashie
cheers, Mark.
Loving this build and looking forward to the headstock reveal!!
Sent from outta space using MartianTalk
Me too, I'm curious as to how it finishes up.
'Lots of bad words'. Of course the veneer moved when it was clamped. Tried heating the veneer off with an iron but that was only partially successful. So it's sanding it off time. But it's snowing outside so that will have to wait.
Next time it's veneer on first, then rout the hole with the Dremel. Without pinning it, I can't see a way to prevent the veneer moving when clamped. At least if my hole routing attempt goes wrong, I can then stick another piece of veneer on, whereas I can't easily recover if I try and do the inlay straight into the headstock wood and that goes wrong.
What's the consensus in using the venerable grab-and-hold-it contact cement?
cheers, Mark.
If you dont get it spot on first go theres no moving it, and the only thing that gets it of your hands is petrol but i could work you'd need a third hand to help lay it downQuote:
Originally Posted by king casey
Well, the old veneer is off (it was stuck very firmly indeed in most places and the next veneer is now on. I left the very end of the veneer, where it meets the nut ridge, very slightly exposed so I could check it during clamping. This will work, even if it does mean a bit more work. Still, I'm fairly confident about routing out a small circle with the Dremel. It doesn't need to be 100% accurate as any gaps can be filled with superglue and then paint.
I've also been piling on the Tru-Oil layers on the body and it's almost there. I've rubbed back quite a few times, so it's just eliminating the last one or two shiny dips in the finish. Now using TO that's pretty heavily diluted with turps.
So I really just need to complete the headstock, then I can glue the neck on, and mess about with any filler around the neck join, get that coloured to match the rest and then get that covered in TO.
You are very persistent Simon,you must have a lot of patience, I wish you better luck next try with the inlay on the headstock . I can’t wait to see this one finished, should be a winner.
We shall fight the veneer in the headstocks...
And now my scalpel's gone missing so I can't trim the veneer down!
Well, might as well post a few pictures.
Here's the body. It's had several sand downs and all the dips and glossy spots had gone at the last sand. Now had a couple more coats of Tru Oil over the top of that, so it's now going to wait for the neck to be finished so I can glue that on. It's a bit dusty I know, but that all comes off when it's rubbed down.
Attachment 25160
Well I've stuck the veneer on the headstock, trimmed it down, patched up a couple of areas where the veneer broke off at the corners, routed out a circle for the inlay to fit in, and stuck it down with black superglue. A brief wobble with the router gave a not quite perfect circle, but it really doesn't matter as any gaps just get filled in.
Attachment 25162Attachment 25163
There is a protective layer of plastic film under the clamp - the same film I found out earlier that didn't adhere to superglue. :)
The clamp is now off and the top of the inlay is now covered in black superglue. I've done the same to the headstock of the ESB-4 bass. It seemed sensible to do them both at the same time.
Because the inlay is stuck to a plastic backing, I drilled holes through the backing in places so that the superglue oozed through the holes (and it did), so should lock the whole inlay piece in place.
Now I just need to wait for the glue to dry hard, then can sand most of it off the top, paint the headstock black with a few coats of black paint, then sand everything flat, hopefully with the inlay design shining through. A bit of gold writing on the headstock, some clear coats, and the neck should all be good to go and stick on the body.
Oh, and I need to stick the new bone nut on before I forget!